Sustainability Champion – Kelly Inae: Goroka Nature Habitat

Since 2006 Kelly Inae and his family have owned and operated Goroka Nature Habitat, an eco-tourism venture located at Goroka in the Eastern Highlands Province. The habitat sits on 3 hectares of land and comprises of a range of agritourism and conservation ventures including bee keeping and reviving local flora and fauna.

In that regard, Kelly partnered with the Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research (ACIAR) to ascertain the composition of his bee’s diets so as to correctly identify the plants and trees needed to support his bees. With help from professional foresters, he was able to create a seed bank of native trees and plants in the area. As a result, Kelly currently has an extensive collection of plants and trees from the highlands and coastal areas of Papua New Guinea.

This approach has helped establish the habitat as a unique eco-tourism destination, with engineers, boilermakers, biologists, agriculturalists, carpenters, and students being some of the guests that have visited to date. During their stay, tourists work with the Inae family in their bee business and also explore Goroka and nearby provinces. Kelly sees this set up as an ideal model for sharing knowledge and practical skills and acknowledges the many benefits that he and the wider community have gained from his guests.

Having also partnered with the World Wide Fund (WWF) to develop honey bee projects for farmers from the gas and oil-rich region of the Southern Highlands Province, Kelly has trained over 5000 Papua New Guineans in conservation and bee keeping to date. He continues to be a strong advocate for conservation and ecotourism in the country and this was recognized in 2019 when he was awarded the Digicel Man of Honor award. This award acknowledges ordinary men in local communities who contribute to their society by strengthening their family, community and their workplace. In 2021, Kelly received the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Award from the Junior Chamber International Victoria, a Hong Kong based non-government organisation. He is currently the Managing Director of Mountain Honey, a honey making business based in Goroka, and has increased his network of Bee Keepers to over 1000 farmers.

Photo Credit: Chris Cannizzaro from https://www.aciar.gov.au/media-search/blogs/bees-and-trees-png